As I sat listening to Dorothy singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow, I had an opportunity to practice having the courage to radiate emotion. I was there to celebrate my daughter’s participation in the musical production of The Wizard of Oz so I was already oozing with pride. But that rendition of the song in one of the opening scenes made my awareness much deeper.
One of the lessons I’ve been learning and practicing this year, and that I hope gets easier as I continue to practice, concerns the expression of emotion.
As far as I can remember, strength was demonstrated by the control of emotion, by reigning it in and wrapping it in a ball that could be contained and massaged when appropriate. This wrapping and reigning created a feeling that I came to associate with being successful. The feeling was a heaviness that stayed deep in the center of my chest. That heaviness became a source of pride, for I had achieved a great feat.
I’ve come to realize that the practice was a symptom of the life I did not want to be living. As part of my journey, I have sought to learn and put into practice the skills that will produce the life I do want.
I have decided that I want to radiate that emotion; I want to radiate it out and release it into the world. The skills I practice are two-fold. One involves having the courage to let that emotion wash through and out of me–especially in public situations. I experience the emotion as waves because that tug from the tide of habit, the need to control, is still present.
So watching Dorothy during the scene in which she feels alone, distraught and unloved, hearing her sing Somewhere Over the Rainbow was a perfect opportunity to practice awareness and to experience what it feels like when I have the courage to radiate emotion.
What is your experience? Do you hold back and control? Do you demonstrate emotion? How do you do that? And, most importantly, how does it make you feel?